Dear Diary,
My teenage angst bullsh*t now has a body count. But what’s your damage, Heather? Is your name even Heather? Just in case it isn’t, Third Wall Productions has a whole bunch of them (three to be in fact) with their fiery production of the screen-to-stage musical Heathers, now playing through April 14th 2024. Directed by Jake Schwarts with Musical Direction by Anton Van De Motter and Choreography by Kelly Williams Carlson,
In 2003 actor/comedian Will Ferrell oozed his way into the hearts and minds of people worldwide as Buddy the Elf in the Christmas smash motion picture Elf. So popular was the film that, worldwide, it grossed $223.9 million…quite a feat for a film with a production budget of $33 million! A few years later it was turned into a musical with a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, and book by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan.
Fun! It isn’t planned! It isn’t programmed! Though you may have to do some planning and programming to make sure you get this big ol’ dose of fun into your calendar sometime over the next couple weekends. See what I did there? ‘big ol’ musical?’ I’m talking about Big, of course, now appearing— making its area premiere— at Scottfield Theatre Company to close out their 2023 calendar. Based 20th Century Fox Film (of the same name,
Delicious, well-seasoned, and rare. And a big enough portion to share! Bring me all of the heartache, a small side of woe— that flavor of longing that I long to know— yes I’d order love! Well, maybe that’s a tall order for a— *gasp* First Date! But it happens. Sometimes. Almost never. But sometimes!! The fairytales we all grew up on, the soap operas and prime-time dramas we’re all addicted to— the fiction books and even the musical librettos.
First impressions, wearing the right thing, not saying the wrong thing, and all the butterflies, nausea, and chaos that typically accompanies a first date. We’ve had them. (Most of the waking world that is.) Most of us can even remember a disastrous first date. And now Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, for it’s mid-season musical, is premiering First Date that low-key musical that debuted on Broadway a decade ago, starring that young girl who had just finished originating Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family musical.
It’s a science fiction— whoa-ooh-ooh double feature— well… maybe just a singular two-act musical feature? It must be spooky season because Stand Up For… Theatre has got The Rocky Horror Show bouncing all over its stages! Directed by Ed Higgins with Musical Direction by William Zellhofer & Andy Kay Wojciehowski, and Choreography by Lilou Altman, this bawdy cult classic has all the iconic, recognizable numbers and some of your favorite Halloween characters to make your evening wild.
“Joy and sorrow never last, I’ll die trying not to live in the past”
Banjos, bluegrass, and bright dreams grace the stage at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre this summer with their production of Bright Star. Playing now through July 23rd, appropriately under the bright stars shining over Annapolis in the summery open air, Bright Star will delight audiences with its wholehearted Americana folksy twang.
Bright Star follows the tales of a young aspiring writer just back from war who seeks out the approval of a stern but talented editor-in-chief with an aspirational past of her own.
Pinch me! Is this real? I got a one-way ticket into Loserville—
the musical! Now appearing on the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater at Frederick Community
College with The Fredericktowne Players, Loserville, the incredibly
underrated and fabulously feel-good musical all about communication is under
the superb direction of Matthew Bannister with Musical Direction by Matthew Dohm
and Choreography by Laurie Newton. The tagline’s not wrong— think Grease
meets The Big Bang Theory— but it’s so much more than that.
There is a jukebox musical that has all of Rosedale
shakin’! It’s Emma! A Pop Musical, now playing at Artistic Synergy of
Baltimore. There is so much energy from the cast they will have you toe tapping
and maybe even dancing in the aisle.
Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom
First time Director Jake Schwartz burst onto the scene
and even shows up in a scene or two.
The broken parts of a dead body will never heal. Sticks and
stones may break my bones but names— will scar me so deep that I just may never
recover. Good grief. When the iconic, albeit off-kilter, happiness of one’s
childhood, hits puberty and spirals off course with tough life lessons and
harrowing high-school truths, you get Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God. Fitting into the wheelhouse of Wolf Pack Theatre
Company productions,
In the final days of the summer of 1955, a definitive cultural event rocked teenaged America when screen idol James Dean was killed in a car accident at the age of 24. Having starred in only three major films (Rebel Without a Cause. East of Eden, and Giant), he defined the prototypical rebellious, misunderstood teen and resonated with American youth unlike any actor ever. Despite his minimal time in the public eye,
Artistic Synergy of Baltimore (ASoB) presents a splendid rendition of Much Ado About Nothing, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known classic comedies. Most are probably familiar with the material already through literature class, seeing it performed elsewhere, or from the various movie versions (most notably the 1993 version directed by Kenneth Branagh), but for those who are not familiar, it can be summed up briefly as two love stories intertwining with misdirection,
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ down the street! Oh please let it be for me! O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ down the street— and I know, I know, I know what it must be! Why it’s bringing something special— a classic production— just for me! And all of Charm City as Third Wall Production presents The Music Man as their winter stage offering of 2018. Directed by Mike Zellhofer with Musical Direction by Andrew Zile and William Zellhofer,
What do you want, Baltimore? Do you want the moon? Just say the word and George Bailey will throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Third Wall Productions seems to think that’s a pretty good idea. So they’re going to give you the moon— in the form a musical adaptation of Frank Capra’s Bedford Falls icon, called A Wonderful Life. With Books & Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and Music by Joe Raposo,
Now, thou art what thou art, a production of Romeo and Juliet. Though this production, at The Green Globe Theatre (Baltimore’s only producing eco-friendly theatre) is beyond the simple notion of star-crossed lovers meeting in fair Verona. Of course, one must be full well in all five wits to endure the length of this production, but tis worth the patience and endurance for the cinematic elements and uniquely conceived approach to placing the star-crossed lover’s tragedy in WWII Nazi occupied France circa 1944.
The papas! The mammas! The daughters! The sons! They’re all there as tradition would dictate— but! This isn’t your grandfather’s Fiddler on the Roof happening as Third Wall Productions approaches its one-year anniversary! Directed by Lance Bankerd, with Musical Direction by Edward Berlett, this reimagined production of a time-weathered classic is an innovative look at how the flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all. Pulling the production out of the dreary,
We’ve all got a little more homework to do when it comes to life. Learn not to judge, learn not to label, learn to be yourself! That’s the message that sixteen amazing young performers are preaching at Third Wall Productions and their current presentation of 13: The Musical. Directed by Kali Baklor with Musical Direction by Eliza Van Kan, this up-tempo life lesson of a musical is full of heart and teenage spirit and guaranteed to bring you back to middle school quicker than you can say “popular.”
Middle School nostalgia comes flooding back to the senses with Scenic Designer and Artist Amy Rudai and Set Designer Jordan Hollett,
He’s the coolest kid in school and he’s never done— the T. The T? The Tongue! Bret wants to give Kendra The Tongue! Oh my god, you guys! Heading into the homestretch of our TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Jake Schwartz of Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical to get the “t” about “The T.”
Thanks for sitting with us, Jake, would you give us a quick introduction to yourself and we’ll get started?